Monthly Newsletter June 2025
NetBuddy.Net
IT Consultants for SBE
Screen Specifications
monitor screens for PCs explained
Work with LCD monitor screens
When choosing a PC monitor, it’s important to balance image quality with cost. Monitor quality is typically judged by factors such as black levels, contrast, brightness, color accuracy, and pixel density. Today, nearly all PC monitors are LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) flat panels, with IPS (In-Plane Switching) being the most common LCD technology. More advanced, but also more expensive options include OLED and Mini-LED displays.

☑ Contrast Ratio: Most LCD monitors have a contrast ratio between 1000:1 and 3000:1, which is sufficient for everyday work. Higher-end monitors can offer ratios of 4000:1 or more, especially in the case of OLED displays.

☑ Brightness: It is measured in candelas per square meter (cd/m²), typically ranges from 200 to 500 cd/m² for standard LCDs, while high-end models can exceed 1000 cd/m². Higher brightness is particularly useful in well-lit environments or for HDR content.

☑ Color Bit Depth and HDR: Modern screens can display millions of colours, which is generally enough to represent the full range of natural hues. However, more important than quantity is color accuracy, how faithfully a monitor reproduces those colours. A newer feature, HDR (High Dynamic Range), enhances realism by improving contrast and color vibrancy, especially in highlights and shadows.

☑ Refresh Rate: It refers to how many times per second the image on the screen is updated, measured in hertz (Hz). For basic office work, 60Hz is typically sufficient. However, for tasks involving fast motion, such as video editing, gaming, or 3D rendering, higher refresh rates like 100Hz, 144Hz, or more, offer smoother visuals.

☑ Response time: How quickly a pixel changes color, also affects performance. For general use, 8ms is adequate. For demanding tasks or gaming, 2ms to 5ms is better, and 1ms is ideal for high-performance gaming.

🏁 Pixel Pitch: Often overlooked, pixel pitch, is the centre-to-centre distance between two adjacent pixels, each consisting of a group of sub-pixels (RGB). Lower pixel pitch is crucial for clarity, especially at typical viewing distances of around 45 cm. Lower pixel pitch means higher pixel density and therefore sharper images. A standard pixel pitch is 0.28 mm, while high-resolution monitors can have 0.22 mm or even 0.16 mm. Pixel pitch is directly related to PPI (Pixels Per Inch).

☑ Connectivity: Most modern LCD monitors support HDMI connections (versions 1.4, 2.0, or 2.1), with newer versions offering support for higher resolutions and refresh rates. Another common option is DisplayPort, which is often preferred for high-performance displays due to better support for high refresh rates and resolutions.

Technical description of an LCD
☑ Resolution: The number of pixels on a screen, measured horizontally × vertically. Monitors can display various (virtual) resolutions, provided the aspect ratio (width to height) remains the same. However, each monitor has a native (physical) resolution that it’s optimized for, and using it generally produces the best image quality. Exceptions may apply for users with specific vision needs.

☑ Aspect Ratio: The proportional relationship between width and height of the display area. Common aspect ratios include: 4:3 – Standard (less common today), 16:9 – Widescreen (most popular), 21:9 – Ultra-Wide (ideal for multitasking or cinematic content), 16:10 – Found on some productivity-oriented monitors, offering extra vertical space.

☑ Common Screen Size: The diagonal measurement of a screen in inches, typically associated with certain native resolutions. Popular screen sizes include 24", 27", and occasionally 19".
💻 List of Popular Resolutions and their optimal size(s).
Name Horizontal Vertical Total A. Ratio UK US EU Screen Size
XGA 1024 768 0.8M 4:3 4%
HD 1280 720 0.9M 16:9 5% 15.6" - 21.5"
WXGA 1280 800 1M 16:10
FWXGA 1366 768 1M 16:9 5% 8% 8% 18.5" - 20"
QVGA 1280 960 1.2M 4:3 7%
WXGA+ 1440 900 1.3M 16:10 6% 5% 4% 19" - 20"
FHD * 1536 * 864 * 1.3M 16:9 10% 7% 13% same as FHD
WSXGA 1600 900 1.5M 16:9 3%
UXGA 1600 1200 1.9M 4:3
FHD 1920 1080 2M 16:9 30% 23% 30% 21.5" - 27", (24")#
2K 2048 1080 2.2M 17:9
WUXGA 1920 1200 2.3M 16:10
WQHD 2560 1440 3.7M 16:9 4% 4% 5% 25" - 32", (27")#!
UWQHD 3440 1440 5M 21:9 34" - 45", (34")#~
QSXGA 2560 2048 5.2M 5:4
4K 3840 2160 8.3M 16:9 27" - 32" $
*: Virtual resolution zoomed @ 125%, Q stands for Quad, #: Optimal size,
!: Most popular size providing FHD, WQHD & 4K, ~: Ultra-Wide, $: All sizes good but smaller is better.
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The information provided here is for guidance only.